When someone dies and their life insurance payout is made to the beneficiary, the beneficiary cashes the cheque, and in the vast majority of cases, the insurer never hears about the estate again.
This phenomenon worries advisor Stéphane G. Côté, who spoke with our team at the Congrès de l’assurance de personnes (Life and Health Insurance Congress) organized in November 2025 by The Insurance Journal Publishing Group.
“When bankers see an amount between $200,000 and $1 million, they want to know the family’s assets,” he says. Furthermore, if the deceased person’s children haven’t met with the life insurance advisor, they simply won’t seek their advice, he adds.
“In 70% of cases, the death benefit is never reinvested by the advisor who processed the claim at the time of death,” says Frédéric Perman, Vice President of Business Development at Financière S_Entiel, a managing general agent and member of AgenZ Group. “It’s quite clear: we’re not working with the new generation in the life insurance industry.”
He adds that the average age of advisors is 45. They work with clients their own age. The industry has very few advisors under 45, he says.
“We’re missing the boat with younger generations,” Perman says. “We’ve gone from a relationship-based approach to a transactional one. There’s no sense of attachment among younger clients.”
For Stéphane G. Côté, those under 40 are more online and using apps. “They want to manage their own investments,” he comments. “Whenever they have the chance, they bypass human interaction. They don’t want to stay with their parents’ advisor, especially when they receive a large sum.”
Established brands
Banks and financial institutions have a head start, he argues. They have branches across the country. They are visible and have the resources to support their brands.
“I have regular meetings with my clients; I play hockey or have lunch with them at least once a year,” he adds. “I often tell them I need to talk to their children. I realize there’s a lot of financial and tax information that they don’t know.”
Côté was a full-service broker at Nesbitt Burns. He is well-positioned to compare the world of securities and that of life insurance. For example, he appreciates segregated funds because they come with a guarantee and a designated beneficiary, protected from creditors.
Another example: it's important to name a successor beneficiary (often the spouse) for a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) to avoid any tax implications between the time of death and the rollover to the beneficiary, which often takes several months, or even more than a year. "At the bank, these returns are taxed, but not at an insurance company," he observes. "Nobody is aware of this, especially not my clients, young and old."
Generational transfer
The generational values of clients and advisors are not aligned. And this hinges on succession planning.
At FinancièreS_Entiel, advisors must identify a young colleague who can purchase their book of business in ten or fifteen years, explains Frédéric Perman. This transition is anything but easy when considering the purchase of a book of business with $40 million in assets under management and an annual recurring income of $150,000. “Few buyers have the means to finance an amount of $450,000, for example.”
“For an advisor with an income of $150,000, excluding new business, paying an assistant $60,000, who will gradually obtain licenses in several areas, represents an investment,” he adds. “They can start part-time and gradually become a full-fledged advisor. It’s a very effective approach…The industry needs to adopt this kind of initiative and review its business model,” he emphasizes. A managing general agent can contribute to this effort, without micromanaging, by offering online marketing tools.
He cites the example of his in-house online quote tool, mavi.vip. “Each advisor can customize this platform to reflect their brand and add tools,” he says. “Clients have access to calculators for their insurance needs, short video clips on topics such as critical illnesses, the difference between permanent and term insurance, and so on. However, to complete a transaction, they must still speak with an advisor licensed by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF).
The platform then offers a virtual or in-person meeting. For each quote, $1 is donated to the Breakfast Club of Canada, a fact the advisor mentions to the client.
Advisors must primarily focus on the needs of the next generation, which revolve around tax sheltered First-Home Savings Accounts (FHSA), mortgage insurance (or term life insurance), and a retirement planning budget, but with minimal sums involved, he suggests.
“A 50-year-old advisor won’t do this because it’s not profitable,” he says. “Yet, at 30, what stresses clients the most are real estate matters. A younger advisor can concentrate on these aspects, even if it means handing the reins over to a mortgage broker. They will finalize the arrangements with home and life insurance to protect the client’s assets.” For Perman, it is crucial that a firm with 3,000 or 5,000 clients take the time to reach out to their children. A team including part-time advisors can dedicate time to this.”
Stéphane G. Côté supports the multidisciplinary approach. But unfortunately, he notes, the industry is not going in that direction.
Frédéric Perman believes it represents a revolution for the insurance industry. But it's a necessary one. "The advisor isn't there to sell, but to guide," he contends. "In this context, if you're all alone in your basement, you have no future. Consumers are now looking for teams that offer a full range of skills. The one-man show is over. People want to work with orchestras. The maestro is the advisor." In this vision, the orchestra is made up of both old and young people.
Outdated image
Do insurance advisors project an outdated image to younger generations?
"Absolutely! We're constantly fighting against that," asserts Stéphane G. Côté. "I'm a Gen X, class of 1968. I've been practicing since 1994 and I have a certain credibility. Yet, I'm still battling against the 'banker look.'"
Finally, Cathy Hiscott, President and CEO of PPI, a general life insurance agent, told us that 70% of widows change financial advisors less than a year after their spouse’s death.
She cites a recent study by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), reported by RFI Global. Poor quality of service from the advisor is said to be the cause. Widows feel that their advisor does not understand their needs, their goals, or does not share their values.
Another study, published by Advocis but dating back to 2019, reports that 80% of widows change advisors 18 months after their spouse’s death. The study cites the lack of a trusting relationship with the advisor, because the advisor previously only communicated with the spouse. Neither study specified who the widows turned to for financial advice.
Contacted for this article, Desjardins, Manulife, Empire Life, UV Insurance, Assumption Life, and iA Financial Group preferred not to comment or offered brief, general comments by email.
